Despite a new squeeze play by the world’s oil cartel to jack up prices again, the move couldn’t hold back the roaring blue chips of Wall Street from scoring their third-straight record day.

The Dow Jones industrial average – buoyed by optimism for higher corporate profits and low interest rates – rose 16.08, or 0.1 percent, to 11,866.69 – just a few points below the Dow’s record interday high of 11,870.06 for the session.

Crude oil rose here yesterday to $60 a barrel, up 61 cents, after word spread that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), whose ministers squabble notoriously, had formed a united front to push oil up back above $60 a barrel by manipulating supplies.

Persian Gulf and other producers have in past years tightened their oil spigots to boost prices three-fold to above $73 a barrel, from a low of $20 a barrel following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It’s estimated Arab states will earn as much as a half-trillion dollars this year from crude, says the International Monetary Fund.